Jason Bourne Is Off To A Great Start At The Box Office

After almost a decade of living off the grid, Matt Damon's Jason Bourne has returned to the silver screen to kick some serious ass. One of the more reliable spy franchises, the Bourne series has had to recover from its last installment, which saw a serious dip in box office earnings. However, it now seems like Matt Damon's homecoming to the franchise bodes incredibly well for the future. The numbers have begun to pour in, and it looks like Jason Bourne will deliver a serious financial beat down to the competition this weekend.

According to figures reported by The Wrap, it seems that Jason Bourne is currently poised to make a killing at the box office this weekend. The latest installment in the long-running action franchise pulled in a cool $4.2 million from Thursday night screenings, and at the moment it seems on track for a $60 million opening weekend. All told, it looks like Jason Bourne will have no trouble beating the competition and winning the weekend when all is said and done.

These figures seem to line up with initial predictions for the movie. Although Universal had provided a more conservative estimate of around $40 million, many outlets accurately predicted that Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass' return could attract warm bodies to the theaters and drum up an incredibly impressive opening weekend. For the sake of comparison, the opening of Jason Bourne currently finds itself on track to become the second best in the history of the franchise, as The Bourne Ultimatum garnered roughly $69 million during its opening weekend in 2007, and the more recent The Bourne Legacy pulled in a paltry $38 million when it opened in 2012.

Jason Bourne's projected financial success doesn't just look good compared to other installments in the franchise. But it does compare well when we look at other spy franchises of the same ilk. As of now, Jason Bourne seems on pace to easily outperform last year's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation -- another fifth installment in a long-running espionage franchise that opened on the exact same weekend.

Financial performance aside, the critical response to Jason Bourne hasn't exactly been glowing. The film hasn't necessarily received bad reviews, but many have asserted that the story of David Webb a.k.a Jason Bourne might have been better left where it ended in 2007. Jason Bourne seems to prime the character for future adventures in a semi-rebooted direction, so perhaps future installments will bring the franchise back to its former critical glory.

Make sure to check in to Cinema Blend for more updates related to the performance of Jason Bourne over the course of the weekend. One thing is certain: the stoic super spy is definitely back in a major way, and he's here to kick ass and take names.